| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | I was a very independent and strong-willed boy (I say "was", but it's not like that's changed so much) and so I would refuse assistance if possible and was so proud when I could manage something on my own. Even when it wasn't rational. At all. I was playing baseball with my older brother in an area of our land that was near where, decades before, other residents had burned their trash. The baseball went over my head and rolled back into a particular area of the woods which our father had told us to never go into, until he was able to make the area clean and safe. Of course, when what is at stake is your baseball, those kinds of instructions sound fairly negotiable. So off I went. I made it safely to the ball, but on the way back out, disaster struck. Oh, did I mention I was barefoot? Yes, I loved nature and I was a country boy, so shoes were a hindrance I avoided whenever my mom didn't catch me. And I was about to receive an object lesson in why shoes aren't such a bad idea. The piece of glass was triangular in shape, probably from the curved top portion of a bottle. It went about an inch into my foot, right in the center of the arch. I yelped and limped out of the woods, trying to avoid putting the injured foot down but also not wanting to fall down; hopping across uneven ground on one foot isn't easy. My brother ran to me, asking what was wrong. I pointed at my foot and said I'd stepped on something. I was probably crying. I mean, I was 6, my foot was bleeding profusely, and I'd done this to myself while breaking one of my dad's rules... why would I NOT be crying? What I was not doing was looking for help. Well, not from my brother. I rebuffed his offer to try to carry me, or even to put my arm over his shoulder to help me, like a wounded warrior, off the battlefield. No, I was strong and independent and I could take care of myself. Well, until I could get mom to take care of me, anyway. I began to hop-limp-hop-limp-hop down the trail to the house, leaving a trail of blood every other step, getting dirt into my cut, yelling for mom, but fighting off every attempt by my brother to help me. No doubt it was comical in a fashion (other than that people rarely laugh at small children who have cuts; but it was me, so I feel free to). But I remember being determined that I was big enough and strong enough to take care of myself; I might be wounded, but I was not afraid, I was not weak, and I would not be deterred. Antiseptic was applied to the cut in copious amounts, and my parents examined the injury and judged it unlikely to be infected. So it was wrapped and I was placed with my leg elevated against the side of the couch. I really did feel like I'd been a casualty of combat, but my strength and bravery had saved me, and now I would recuperate like the hero I was. Except that for dinner, I lay on the couch with my dinner plate on my chest, watching while the rest of the family gathered (as always) around the dinner table. It was an oddly lonely and solitary feeling for someone who'd just been so wrapped up in his independence. Apparently, self-sufficiency didn't preclude being social; who knew? Well, now there was at least one more little six year old who knew. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I would be hard-pressed to choose between my parents as to whom I most identify with, but it would be one of them... unless it could be both of them. Many of my mother's emotional and social proclivities are with me: a compassionate heart; a desire to care for others; an affinity for animals; a tendency for quiet introspection. As such, I see a lot of her in me and how I approach people; my connection with her helps me understand myself. However, the shared intellectual curiosity and substantial desire and capacity for discussing/exchanging ideas my father and I have are one of the dominant characteristics that have shaped my life, my career and my friendships. My father and I still engage in intense and deep conversations about politics, religion, philosophy, etc. In some ways, those exchanges underpin our relationship and even our identities. These characteristics he gave to me connect us, and they shape how I interact with the world and information. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Honesty/directness would be first thing that I admire and appreciate in another person. I like to know that I can trust the person I'm dealing with. People who are shifty, insincere, or don't respect the importance of truthfulness make me uncomfortable. Open-mindedness is another key characteristic; people who are open to new ideas and are willing to question old ideas make interesting and enjoyable partners for conversation. Conversely, people who judge very quickly or who use very rigid and inflexible ways of dealing with the world are not enjoyable to be around. Their tendency to be unwilling to see the variety and nuances in life makes sharing ideas and understanding difficult, and makes their company uncomfortable. Sense of humor is important as well; people who can see the humor in life, from the big things to the little, and from the good to the bad, are admirable and enjoyable to be around. They make the most of life, and through their humor they share that with others. People who have a joy for life and see the beauty and potential it holds are very admirable. This by no means precludes being realistic and understanding that the world is not perfect; being able to appreciate the beauty of the world, in spite of its imperfections, is a beautiful skill. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | Funny mostly in retrospect and because of the incongruity of the event compared to the rest of my life... I would say the time I flipped over the 18-wheeler I was driving. Context: I was taking a year off from college, because I wanted to earn enough money to stop relying on student loans, and I got a job as an over-the-road truck driver. Six weeks of classroom/track training and 4 weeks of on-the-job training later, I was turned loose on the interstate highway system with my own rig. The short version of this specific story involves winter in Colorado, a light load that provided little pressure on the wheels for traction, freezing rain followed by snow, and high winds. Coming out from underneath an overpass, a powerful gust of wind shoved the trailer sideways, causing the rig to begin to jackknife. I steered into the skid and attempted to regain control, but the trailer had been pushed almost entirely past a correctable skid. The rig snapped back and forth as I spun the wheel left, then right, then left... and the whole time, the wind was shoving the rig toward the median. And when the front left wheel caught the median, it pulled the whole rig in, where things quickly got worse than just being stuck. With the rig turned at a 45 deg. angle to the highway, the down-the-road momentum of the rig was now pulling the rig sideways. Wheels don't roll sideways. Trucks, though, do. The truck's wheels had stopped turning and were so dug into the earth that sliding was not an option, so the momentum began tipping the truck up on its side. I was breathless and in shock in the cab, clutching the wheel, and absolutely unable to believe that the truck I had just been carefully piloting down the road was about to flip over in the median. Except that I was saved at the last instant! The truck stopped tipping and began to come back down. The relief I felt was immense... as was the impact as the truck's left side came slamming back on to earth. Well, on to earth and on to the suspension, which took up the shock. And then released that energy by throwing the truck right back over anyway. I was left hanging from my seat-belt in a sideways truck. It was surreal. In retrospect, it makes me laugh every time. It's funny now; I mean, I can only imagine what a video of my facial expressions would have been through the whole thing. But at the time... I was in shock and the entire situation was a mess. Truck: on its side; my sleeper cab: trashed, with food, books and clothes everywhere. Speaking of clothes, the shorts and t-shirt I customarily drove in weren't quite going to cut it in the blizzard outside. I unbuckled, falling/climbing awkwardly across the cab, and crawled into the back to change. I'll skip the details of how it was flipped back on its wheels and towed... but the funniest part is that two days later, I walked out to what I had thought was a wrecked vehicle, straightened out the mirrors, and just drove away. My ridiculous crash was a total non-event for that beast. As crashes go, it was remarkably safe, inexpensive... and funny. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | Bhutan, because it is such an untouched and isolated area of the world. Its culture is unique because of the isolation granted by its geography, and that geography is varied and strikingly beautiful. Also, it has pioneered the concept of GNH (Gross National Happiness), and fittingly it's rated one of the happiest countries in the world. How could that NOT be a great place to visit? Switzerland is another beautiful land, ringed in mountains, with an old and unique culture. The tradition of being unaligned and neutral makes it an interesting place to explore and learn more about as well. Turkey is a land with layers of cultures, nations, empires, and peoples spread across it. The areas of great antiquity and historical significance are counter-pointed by a modern nation that bridges East and West. Between the extensive territory, the diverse cultures, the layers of history, and the modern cosmopolitan centers, Turkey would take forever to fully explore... but it would be a fun challenge. Machu Picchu is a spectacular and amazingly well-preserved city of antiquity. The location, high in the mountains, and the "exotic" nature of an estate built for the royalty of the extinct Inca culture, would make it a unique and thrilling place to visit. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Curiosity - a spirit that is in awe and in love with the complexity and wonder of the world, always seeking out a greater and deeper understanding of it. Open-Mindedness - A willingness and ability to balance the need to make meaningful decisions with the principle that one should never reject the possibility of further discovery and new understandings of issues. Intellect - The raw power of the mind to understand complex issues, remember large quantities of information, and link disparate events or subjects in order to develop new understandings. Health and Fitness - Living in a healthy way and taking care of the body so as to be strong makes for a life that is longer and also more enjoyable, enabling both the length and the depth of life to be enjoyed. Joy for Life - Length of years alone does not make for a good life; a spirit of appreciation and enjoyment and pleasure greatly affects and improves the content of those years. |
